"la gente" is a plural noun like the people the singular wolud be "la persona" or "el ramo (de flores)" like the brunch of flowers Howewer in some old histories you can see "las gentes", but don't worry about, it has the same meaning

"la gente" is plural, is like saying "the people". "muchas gentes" o "las gentes" is totally wrong no matter the country... Some people use to say it... anyways is WRONG

You can find "gentes" in cases like this : Derecho de gentes. From ius gentium, in the Roman Empire the part of the law and the institutions that dealed with the non-citizens. Coming from there, "derecho de gentes" is applied today to international law (that is also called in Spanish "Derecho internacional"). Pobres gentes. The title of a Dostoyevski's novel I haven't read. To me, "gentes" sounds a bit more "special" than "gente" (that is, I would see it in an Encyclopedia rather than in a conversation with my friends). But as Lore said, they're the same.

No se dice muachas gentes, lo indicado s decir mucha gente, pues el vocablo gente, se refiere a varios miembros.

a plural form would be las personas = the people but la gente is also plural